T 



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LIBRABY OF CONGRESS. 
T2 . 2)<3 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



iMMi 



W Keep this Book for Future Reference. 



PLAIN WORDS 



ABOUT 



PATENTS 

FACTS FOR 

INVENTORS, PATENTEES and MANOFAGTURERS 

RELATING TO 

Inventions, Caveats, Patents, Trade-Marks, Labels, Designs, 

Copyrights, Reissues, Foreign Patents and Trade-Marks; 

also, Extracts fronn recent Important Decisions of U.S. 

Suprenne and Circuit Courts and of the Comnnis- 

sioner of Patents touching the rights of 

Inventors and Patentees. 

BY 

E.B. STOCKING 

-A.TTORNE Y ^T L A.TSr, 

WASHINGTON, D.C. 
All PREVIOUS Pamphlets Withdrawn. ^ 

SECOND EDITION. ^mffl 

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ M^mk 

Copyrighted, 1885 




^ IISJ D E X . ^ 



PAGE. 



A First Step toward Securing a Patent 30 

A Second Step toward Securing a Patent 31 

Abandoned and Forfeited Applications 38 

Appeals 40 

A Skilled Attorney a Necessity 11 

Assignments and Title Searches 63 

Can I Secure a Patent? 20 

Caveats 49 

Copyrights 53 

Design Patents 50 

Documents 55 

Drawings 26 

Expert Searches and Opinions 57 

Fees.. 63 

Foreign Patents 59 

Foreign Trade-Marks 63 

General Information 15 

How to Invent 17 

Interferences 45 

In the Office 32 

Labels 53 

Mailable Matter 31 

Models 27 

Power of Attorney 37 

Preliminary Search and Examination 2] 

Printed Copies of Patents 35 

Keissues 42 

Kejected Applications 35 

Stock and other Companies 55 

Table of Fees 64 

Time required to Secure a Patent 28 

Trade-Mark^ , 51 

What Constitutes an Application 25 

What is a Patent 16 

What is Patentable 17 

Who Makes the Application 25 



PLAIN WORDS 



ABOUT 



PATENTS, 



BY 



V^' 



E. B. STOCKING 







ATTORNEY AT LAW, 



SH:ilTC3-TOISr, 3D. C. 




PATENT PRACTICE EXCLUSIVELY. 



Fourteen years' experience in the solicitation of American and Foreign 

Patents and in matters relating to Patents and Property Rights in 

Inventions. Four years a member of the Examining Corps 

of the U. S. Patent Office. 



T33T 
.584 



REFERENCES. 



This pocket reference-book will undoubtedly be 
received by persons unacquainted with me, and I 
therefore, dy permission, mention the following ref- 
erences : 

Hon. Frank Hiscock, M. C, 2Sth Dist. N. Y. . 
Hon. Ezra B. Taylor, M. C, 19th Dist. Ohio. 
Hon. F. B. Brewer, M. C, 33d Dist. N. Y. 



EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 



House of Representatives, 

Washington, D. C, Jan. 7th, 1885. 
E. B. Stocking, Esq. 

My Dear Sir : The care and promptness which you have exer- 
cised in prosecuting patent matters which I have placed in your 
hands for my friends and constituents warrant me in commending 
you to the confidence and patronage of any who may have business 

of that nature. 

F. B. BREWER, M. C, 

33 c? District, N. Y. 



Office of Goldixg & Co., 
Manufacturers of Presses and Printers' Supplies, 

Fort Hill Square, 
Boston, Mass., July 14:th, 1884. 

E. B. Stocking, Esq., Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir : I regard you as very thorough in the preparation of 
cases for the Patent Office, and unusually successful in securing 
what you claim. 

Respectfully, 

WILLIAM H. GOLDING. 



Office of E. Morrison, 

Sole Manufacturer and Dealer in 

The Morrison & Herron Paper Tester, 

805 D Street. 

Washington, D. C, January 20th, 1885. 
E. B. Stocking, Esq., Washington, D. C. 

Sir : Your services in our behalf in securing several United 
(3) 



4 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

States Patents and Foreign Patents in several different countries 
have been entirely satisfactory, and we are pleased vrith the skill 
with which you have conducted the business, and take pleasure 
in recommending you to our friends and acquaintances having any 
business connected with patents or inventions. 

We also owe you special thanks for the skillful presentation of the 
working of, and results produced by, our machine for testing paper and 
other fabrics, and the extremely severe tests to which you subjected 
the same, at the request of the Postmaster-General of the United 
States, in his presence and in the presence of several paper manu- 
facturers. You are aware that the Postmaster-General revoked ^ 
contracts involving thousands of dollars, and has since refused to 
receive supplies of envelopes, &c., and that he bases his actions 
wholly upon the skillful detection by our machine of fault in the 
quality of supplies furnished the Government. We mention this to 
show that you are not only skillful in Patent Practice, but also have 
that practical mechanical ability which is so essential to a success- 
ful attorney. 

Yours, truly, 

E. MORRISON. 
JAMES P. HEKRON. 



PouLTNEY, Yt., /a?i?<a?7/ 13^/i, 1885. 
E. B. Stocking, Esq., Washington, D.C. 

Dear Sir : An experience of many years as an inventor and man- 
ufacturer, together with the experience gained in a long and expensive 
lawsuit, has shown me the importance of securing good protection 
for my inventions, and has led me to believe that the best work, in 
the end, will prove the cheapest. 

It is now nearly a year since I first employed you professionally? 
and during that time you have secured five patents for me and one 
for a friend, besides doing a good deal of other work in patent mat- 
ters for me, with all of which I have been well pleased. 

I have found you very thorough in drawing specifications and 
claims, and very persistent and faithful in prosecuting them before 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 5 

the Patent Office, and very careful in making amendments when you 

have been convinced that the same should be made. 

To all inventors and manufacturers and others who desire good 

work, I unhesitatingly recommend you. 

Yours, truly, 

F. W. MOSELEY. 



Syracuse, N. Y., January 16th^ 1885. 
E. B. Stocking, Esq., Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir : It has been a pleasure and great relief to do business 
with you. You take an idea so quickly, and see all the points, that 
I really think I am getting careless in sending descriptions, &c. I 
have said to some of my acquaintances that when I got my case in 
your hands I dropped all care of it, and felt free to take up the next 
case, as I knew it would receive much better care than I could give 
it. I have several things on the stocks which I hope to have in 
your hands shortly. 

Yours, truly, 

GEOKGE A. COLTON. 



delavan peck, pres t. allen conkling, treas. 

chas. angus, sec. 

Troy Laundry Machinery Co., Limited, 
Manufacturers of Laundry Machinery and Dealers in Laundry 

Supplies, 
Office 648 and 650 Fulton Street. 

Troy, New York, January 21 5f, 1885. 
E, B. Stocking, Esq., Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir : As you are aware, quite a number of patents have 
been obtained in our line of machinery, and that we frequently have 
occasion to procure searches and other information regarding pat- 
ents on subjects in which we are interested. For these purposes we 
have employed several solicitors and attorneys at various times. All 



6 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

the matters we have intrusted to you have been executed with a 
promptness and thoroughness highly satisfactory to us ; so much so. 
in fact, that all the business we have of this character is sent to you 
without thought of employing any other party. 
Yours, truly, 

TKOY LAUNDRY MACHINERY CO., I.IMITED, 

CHAS. ANGUS, Sec. 



The Haas Manupacturixg Co., 
Philadelphia, Pa., January 22c?, 1885. 
E. B. Stockixg, Esq., 

Solicitor of Patents^ 

615 7th street, Washington, D. C. 
My Dear Sir : It certainly affords me great pleasure to give my 
testimony as to the manner in which you have conducted my busi- 
ness in the past two years as my confidential adviser in all matters 
relating to my inventions. With an opportunity for judging, having 
employed other solicitors in former years, I do not hesitate to say 
that the drawings and specifications made by you I consider models 
of neatness and precision. Also that the specifications on several 
occasions contained suggestions that increased the value of my 
patents. And with the unbroken confidence existing between us, 
your thorough knowledge of mechanics and the patent law, I con- 
sider you my first choice over all other solicitors. 

Yours, very truly, 

EDWIN HAAS. 



Brooklyn, N, Y., January 'l^d^ 1885. 
E. B. Stocking, Esq., Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir : Having employed you as my attorney in patent mat- 
ters, I take pleasure in recommending you to any who may require 
your services in that capacity as a gentleman worthy of their con- 
• fidence, and one who prosecutes with ability and diligence any busi- 
ness intrusted to him. 

Yours, truly, 

FRANKLIN R. HOGEBOOM. 



Albany, N. Y., January 2Sth, 1885. 
Mr. E. B. Stocking, 

615 Seventh street, Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir : I have learned through an extended and not altogether 
happy experience many things relating to patent business. Among 
other things I havelearned the paramount importance, to an inventor 
or one commercially interested in patents, of a competent solicitor. 
It affords me sincere pleasure to testify to the exceptional perfection 
of your equipment in the following essential respects : Probity, thor- 
oughness, mechanical ability, quickness of perception, a retentive 
memory, a full and exact knowledge of many mechanic arts and 
appliances, as well as of patent laws, precedents, rulings, and prac- 
tice. 

It is needless to add that I trust my cases to you with entire con- 
fidence that through your agency I shall receive the fullest possible 
protection. 

Yours, sincerely, 

T. S. WIIiES. 



[From Rev. Jos. R. Angel.] 

Meshoppen, Pa., January 27th, 1885. 
E. B. Stocking, Esq., Washington, D. C. 

Dear Sir : I thank you for the prompt, courteous, and successful 
manner in which you conducted the business of procuring my patents. 
I can and will cheerfully recommend you to the attention of any 
of my friends who should need services of that character. 

Yours, very truly, 

JOS. K. ANGEI.. 



PLAIN V/ORDS 



ABOUT 



PATENTS, 



B^ 



E. B. STOCKING, 



ATTORNEY AT LAW, 



WASHINGTON, D. 0, 



10 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 



2>TO'X'IOE ! 

This book is often sent (with certain portions marked) 
to correspondents, as a respectful answer to inquiries, 
especially when more information can thus be given 
than within the limits of an ordinary letter. 

If you find the marked passages either insufficient or 
not clearly applicable to your case, do not hesitate to 
write for further and more satisfactory information. 
General information is cheerfully given without charge. 
See Index, second page of cover, "General Informa- 
tion." 

ALL CORRESPONDENCE STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL. 

Don't try to remember the street and number, but 
tell your friends that all the address they need is 

'E. B. STOCKING, Attorney, 

Washington, D. C. 



11 



A Skilled Attorney a Necessity. 

The Seventeenth Eule of Practice in the United 
States Patent Office reads in part as follows: 

'^As the value of patents depends largely upon the 
careful preparation of the specification and clainns, the 
assistance of competent counsel will, in most cases, be 
of advantage to the applicant, but the value of their 
services will be proportionate to their skill and honesty, 
and too muck care cannot be exercised in their selection. 
The Office cannot assume responsibility for the acts of 
attorneys, nor can it assist applicants in making their 
selection. It will, however, be unsafe to trust those 
who pretend to the possession of any facilities except 
capacity and diligence for prosecuting patents in a 
shorter time or with broader claims than others." 

In the case of Miller & Co. v. The Bridgeport Brass 
Co., the Supreme Court of the United States, Mr. 
Justice Bradley delivering the opinion of the court, 
said: * * * "But it must be remembered that 
the claim of a specilic device or combination, and an 
omission to claim, other devices or combinations ap- 
parent on the face of the patent, are in law a dedica- 
tion TO THE PUBLIC of that which is not claimed. It is 
a declaration that that which is not claimed is either 
not the patentee's invention, or, if his, he dedicates it 
to the public." (Decided January 9th, 1882.) 

The inventor "must stand upon his claims^ for the 
thing is w4iat the inventor claims, and not what he 
shows. If he states these too narrowly, the law author- 
izes him to surrender the patent and reissue the same 
with ampler statements; but until this is done the 
courts cannot give him more than he asks for." 



12 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

Delaware Coal and Ice Co. v. Packer, 24 0. G., 
1273. (See Keissues, pa^e 10.) 

In Merrill v. Yeomans, C. D., 1877, 281, the United 
States Suprenne Court says : 

" When a man supposes he has nnade an invention 
or discovery useful in the arts, and, therefore, tlie 
proper subject of a patent, it is nine times out of ten 
an improvement on some existing article, process, or 
machine, and is only useful in combination with it. 
It is necessary, therefore, for him in his application to 
the Patent Office to describe that upon which he in- 
grafts his invention, as well as the invention itself; 
and in cases where the invention is a new combination 
of old devices, he is bound to describe with particu- 
larity all these old devices, and then the new mode of 
combining them for which he desires a patent. It 
thus occurs that in every application for a patent the 
descriptive part is necessarily occupied with what is 
not new, in order to an understanding of what is new. 

'^The act of Congress, therefore, very wisely re- 
quires of the applicant a distinct and specific statement 
of what he claims to be new and to be his invention. 
In practice, this allegation of the distinct matters for 
which he claims a patent comes at tlie close of the 
schedule or specification, and is often accompanied by 
a disclaimer of any title to certain matters before 
described in order to prevent conflicts with pre-exist- 
ing patents. The distinct and formal claim is, there- 
fore, of primary importance in the eltbrt to ascertain 
precisely what it is that is patented to the appellant in 
this case. * * * 

"The growth of the patent system in the last 
quarter of a century in this country has reached a 
stage in its progress where the variety and magni- 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 13 

tiule of the interests invc^lved leqiiii'e accuracy, pre- 
cision, and care in the PREPARATION of all the 
papers on lohicli the patent is founded. It is no longer a 
scarcely-recognized principle struggling for a foothold, 
but it is an organized system with well-settled rules, 
supporting itself at once by its utility and by the wealth 
w^bich it creates and commands. The developed and 
improved condition of the patent law and of the prin- 
ciples which govern the exclusive rigbts conferred 
leave no excuse for ambiguous language or vague de- 
scriptions. The pubHc should not be deprived of 
rights supposed to belong to it witbout being clearly 
told what it is that limits these rights. The genius of 
the inventor, constantly making improvements in exist- 
ing patents — a process whicb gives the patent system 
its greatest value — should not be restraijied, by vague and 
indefinite descriptions of claims in existing patents, 
from the salutary and necessary right of improvmg 
on that which has ab'eady been invented. It seems 
to us that nothing can be more just and fair^ both to 
the patentee and the public, than that the former 
should understand and correctly describe just wbat he 
has invented and for what he claims a patent." 

In this case the description and claims were so 
ambiguous that the invention covered by the patent 
was held to be a process for producing a certain arti- 
cle, which article of itself was new, but which the 
patentee, it was held, failed to distinctly claim, and 
therefore be could not recover damages from the 
defendants for making that article by a different pro- 
cess; whereaSj if the article had been distinctly claimed, 
he would have won his case. 

'^Slight defects in a specification will sometimes 
3 



14 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

render a patent void. Foi* example, omitting to state 
the use of tallow, which the patentee employed for 
facilitating the manufactnre of steel trusses. Liardet v. 
Johnson, Webster's Patent Cases, 53. In a patent for a 
medicine, failing to state the proportions of the ingre- 
dients. (Liardet v. Johnson, ante.) Neglecting to 
state a material which more rapidly secured an effect. 
(Wood V. Zimmerman, Webster's Patent Cases, 82.) 
Failing to describe the manner of constructing and 
using the invention in such clear terms as to render 
experiment unnecessary on the part of others skilled 
in the art to practice the invention. (King v. Ark- 
wright, Webster's Patent Cases, QQ.) Failing to draw 
claims for legitimate cox\\h\\\'c\WonQ,i\\Q claims being for 
mere aggregations. (Double-Pointed Tack Co. v. Two 
Rivers Manufacturing Co., decided in the U. S. Su- 
preme Court November 5th, 1883.)" 

Many other and even more striking cases could be 
cited to show any reasonable inventor the necessity of 
employing in the first instance — that is, in the prepara- 
tion and prosecution of his applications — an attoriicy of 
experienced skill, in order to secure the broadest and 
most perfect protection of his exclusive rights. 

There is a class of so- called patent agents who 
undertake cases on the plan of ''no patent, no fee," 
making their fee conditional on success. This plausi- 
ble, specious manner of doing business will catch 
only those inventors who have very slight informa- 
tion in regard to patent matters. I do not desire 
to compete with such agents, and submit that a 
skillful preparation and prosecution of an applica- 
tion has in view something more than to barely se- 
cure a fee. 



15 



Genera! Information. 

Respectful attention to every inquiry is a rule re- 
quiring as particular observance by a patent attorney 
as any rule in any business or profession, especially 
where so large a portion of the business is transacted 
by correspondence; and, although provided with the 
speedy assistance of a phonographer or short-hand 
writer, and the nimble aid of type-writers, I can give 
personal attention to the interests of my clients only by 
a strict observance of other rules of business just as 
arbitrary as that with which I open this section of 
"Plain Words About Patents." 

In fact, one of the main objects of this little book 
is to put in " PLAIN WORDS " the ^' how " and, as far as 
reasonable, the " why" of what you should know and 
do to protect your rights as an inventor, patentee, 
manufacturer, or as a man who is threatened in prop- 
erty and peace of mind by reason of some patent 
owned by others. 

General information I am pleased to give freely, 
and I have endeavored to make every subject touched 
upon in "Plain Words" so clear that any beginner 
in patent matters may understand it. But corre- 
spondents sometimes step from the bounds of general 
into that of special information. One class of in- 
quirers are apt to ask questions the answers to which 
require hours, if not days, of searching the records 
of the Patent Office. For example, a correspondent 
in one State wants to know what Smith claims in 
his patent on a washing-machine, or one from another 
State calls for a copy of each patent granted for 
a car-coupler. Of course, when informed that there 



16 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

are at least three thousand patents in the hitter class 
of inventions and a larger number in the former, 
the impossibility of complying with such requests is 
realized. The examples given are extreme cases, 
though actually true; but it is not uncommon for 
wiser heads to propound questions involving an equal 
amount of labor and time. However, each receives 
proper attentioji, especially when the inquiry is accom- 
panied with a fee in recognition of, and approximately 
commensurate to, the service requested. 

I therefore use this little book by marking sections 
thereof as a respectful answer to inquiries for general 
informatioi], which is given without fee, and to indi- 
cate the divisional line between it and special inforjn- 
ation, as well as to give estimates of costs in ordinary 
cases; and if " Plain Words " should prove insuffi- 
cient in any respect, you are requested to write for 
further information, and your inquiry will receive 
prompt and cheerful attention. 

What is a Patent? 

For and in consideration of a disclosure by any 
inventor (whether citizen or alien, man, woman, or 
minor) of his or her invention, the United States Gov- 
ernment provides by law that it will^ upon certain 
application and payment of certain fees, secure to 
said inventor, his heirs or assigns, for the term of sev- 
enteen years from the date upon which a patent is 
issued, the exclusive right to make, to use, and to sell 
the invention throughout the United States and the 
Territories thereof. And the exclusiveness of this 
right prevents all persons, as well as the Government 
of the United States and all of its officers, from making 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 17 

or using or selling the invention without the consent 
of the inventor. The document issued by the Gov- 
ernment as evidence of the above rights is termed a 
Patent. 

At the end of the seventeen years the patent exph'es 
and the invention becomes pubHc property, and can 
be freely practiced by any one, unless the patent is 
extended by a special act of Congress. 

How to Invent. 

Don't try to invent a road to the moon. Cultivate 
observation. Study existing forms of things capable 
of use, ascertain their fauhs, and devise means for 
correcting them. Increase the productive power of 
well-established machines and methods. Seek to 
increase valuable characteristics of articles and of 
substances, either natural or artificial. Devise less 
expensive methods of husbanding natural products of 
the soil and of the mines. Transform into useful 
conditions that which is in the arts, condemned and 
cast aside as w^aste. 

The field is large, and requires labor, to which it 
grants rich reward ; and yet 'tis true that invention 
often comes without a warning. It is a '' happy 
thought^" and is just as much entitled to the pro- 
tection of law as if it were the product of years of toil 
and large expenditure of means. 

What is Patentable. 

Section 4886 of the Revised Statutes specifies four 
classes of patentable inventions, as follows : 

"Any new and useful art, machine, manufacture, or 



18 E. E. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

COMPOSITION OF MATTER, ov any new and useful im- 
provement of the same." 

The word "art" means method or process — a way 
or manner of doing anything. An art, method, or 
process patent covers the manner or process therein 
claimed of accomplishing the result attained by the 
invention, and this without regard to any particular 
means, machines, tools, or devices employed. An art 
patent relates to acts, whether performed by hand or 
by the aid of chemical, mechanical, electrical, or other 
agencies. The word ^'machine" means a co-operative 
arrangement of mechanical elements which is capable 
of receiving and transmitting power, and it includes 
any apparatus which is affected by or affects any sub- 
stance submitted to its operation. 

The word "manufacture" means any article made 
by man and capable of use. 

The words "composition of matter" mean any sub- 
stance made up of ingredients, as medicinal and chem- 
ical compounds, or a material changed in its nature or 
form by treatment; as, for example, vulcanized rubber. 
From the above it will be seen that your invention to 
be patentable must be of one of the above statutory 
classes. 

The same section of the law requires that your 
invention must be new and useful. ^'New" here 
means, not before known or used by others, and not 
previously patented, or described in any printed pub- 
lication, and not in public use or on sale in this 
country for more than two years prior to filing the 
application for a patent^ and not abandoned — that 
is, not given or dedicated to the public by express 
words or acts of the inventor — nor forfeited by his 
negligence in applying for a patent. 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 19 

The American inventor competes with the world. 
If the Patent Office Examiner who has charge of your 
application for a patent Unds a description, in any 
published book or journal, sufficiently clear to enable 
any person skilled in the art to practice said invention, 
you are barred hy law from receiving a valid patent 
therefor. 

The word " useful " means not harmful — capable of 
use for any purpose not against public policy. Play- 
ing-cards and pistols, if novel, are patentable, although 
capable of unlawful use, they being also capable of 
harmless use. 

There are many inventions falling properly within 
the statutory classes which are of questionable patent- 
ability, such as those involving the substitution of one 
material for another — a safe rule to settle that ques- 
tion being that, if you have done something new to 
that material to make it perform the functions of that 
for which you substitute it, you have made a patent- 
able invention. The same may be said if you have 
adapted a machine or article to receive as a part thereof 
a different material; but in this case the gist of the 
invention lies in the adaptation rather than the mere 
change of material. 

Your invention and that of every other inventor is 
passed under review to determine its patentabilit}^ 
and many other questions require careful considera- 
tion. The tendency of the courts in later decisions is 
to require in every application and patent a full, strict 
compliance with every condition imposed by the stat- 
ute. The public feeling has been^ by certain abuses 
of the privileges granted by law to inventors and pat- 
entees, incited against the patent system of the United 
States — a system founded on an original section of the 



20 • E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

Constitution; a system that has added to the intelli- 
gence and wealth of our people as much if not more 
than any other provision of that document, except that 
of a government controlled by the governed. Even 
representatives of the people here in Congress, by 
these abuses, have been stirred to advocate the repeal 
of existing patent laws; and it behooves inventors, 
manufacturers, and capitalists, having property rights 
in inventions and in patents, to not only exercise judg- 
ment and skill in {\\q preparation and prosecution of their 
applications for patents, but to exercise their influence 
against the advancement to the position of law-makers 
of persons holding sentiments of ill-will to the rights 
constitutionally dedicated to inventors and authors. 

Can I Secure a Patent? 

Having made an invention, the above is the tirst 
question which you ask, and that question includes the 
other which I have presented, viz., "what is patent- 
able. " 

Over three hundred thousand patents have been 
granted by our Government in its tirst century, and 
these are arranged and classified in the Patent Office 
into twenty-eight divisions to facilitate the labor of 
examination, the divisional lines being founded prin- 
cipally according to the nature of the inventions. 
Tliere is also provided by law as a part of the United 
States Patent Office one of the most extensive scien- 
tific and technical libraries in existence, which is con- 
stantly growing, and which is daily referred to by the 
examining corps in their expert searches for anticipa- 
tions of inventions set forth and claimed by applicants. 
There are in this library a complete set of drawings 
and descriptions of all the patents granted by the 



21 

English Government during the past two hundred years, 
and also copies of French, German, and other foreign 
patents. The treatment of each application may 
require careful examination of all these sources of 
information, and recent practice has been suggested where- 
in the Comnriissioner of Patents steps outside of the 
Office and beyond these sources and into our factories, 
shops, and salesrooms to discover the public use or sale 
of inventions at a time more than two years prior to 
the filing of applications therefor, in order to refuse 
patents on that ground. 

You are privileged to make use, in person or by 
attorney, of these means at the hands of the Commis- 
sioner and his subordinates (subject, however, to wise 
rules to prevent obstruction of the business of the 
Office), so that you or your attorney may learn the 
state of the art and decide whether or not your in- 
vention is patentable, and w^hether or not you can 
vsecure a patent for the same, and this even before you 
have made formal application therefor. 

Years of experience as a member of the Examining 
Corps of the Patent Office, followed by constant ref- 
erence (in my professional duties to my clients) to the 
records and library thereof and to outside sources 
of information, have made me an expert searcher — one 
knowing where and how to make examinations for all 
classes and kinds of inventions. 

I put the question to you : Is it for your best interest 
to undertake this work yourself, or to employ a skilled 
attorney to act for you? 

Preliminarv Search and Examination. 

By reason of my experience and skill I am enabled 
to determine, after a casual examination of your in- 
4 



22 . E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

vention, and to report to you, whether or not, in my 
opinion, I can secure for you a patent for the same^ 
and for such a i*eport I make no charge. 

Let me state just here, and very clearly, that the 
above report (without search) as to patentability is the 
only service which I perform gratuitously. I can 
afford this much, as a physician can afford to give a 
diagnosis of a case, well knowing that his fee is paid 
in the charge for the p)rescription or subsequent treat- 
ment. My report is but the expression of my opinion- 
reliable, it is true; but I tell you plainly, that report 
does not cover all the facts which every true inventor 
should know in regard to his invention. I report 
simply whether or not, in my judgment, I can secure 
for you a patent. You should know if there are in 
existence patents for inventions similar to yours, and 
should be furnished with a copy of those having 
material bearing on your invention, and be informed 
whether you would infringe said patents in making, 
using, or selling your invention, and, approximately, 
how broad and what claims you can secure, and upon 
what particular features of your invention, and, if 
necessary, what changes you ought to make to avoid 
infringing patents with w^hich your invention would 
conflict. A report covering these facts can be made 
only upon a careful preliminary search, for which I 
charge $5, which includes copies (if not exhausted) of 
the nearest patents having material bearing on your 
invention. The Government price for single copies 
of printed patents is 25 cents. My fee for the pre- 
liminary search includes the cost of such printed copies 
as are necessary to a clear, full report. 

By having a preliminary search you first know be- 
forehand whether or not you can secure a patent; 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 23 

and, second, avoid the expense of Government and 
attorney's fees in case your invention is found to be an- 
ticipated — that is, old, and therefore not patentable ; or, 
third, secure the collection of facts that will greatly 
aid in the most careful, skillful, and intelligent prepara- 
tion and prosecution of your application, and the final 
securing of the broadest possible claims, covering your 
invention in its largest novelty. 

There are two methods of presenting applications 
for patents. The first and not desirable method is 
to present the case broadly, claiming everything, 
without regard to the state of the art, and, in the sub- 
sequent prosecution of the case, submitting to rejec- 
tions of the application by the Examiner, and finally, 
by amendment, gradually coming down to that which 
is new, and (perhaps by appeal only) securing that. 
(See Appeals, page 40.) 

This method puts upon the record of your case in 
the Patent Ofiice many references to other similar 
patents, thus "clouding your title" and frightening 
would-be purchasers of your patent. 

(Every purchaser of a patent, if wise, sends for an 
expert opinion on the scope and validity of the patent 
before he invests his money in it. (See Opinions, 
page 57.) 

By the second and preferable method, your attor- 
ney first ascertains what features are new, and comes 
out of the Ofiice with few references or none, and 
with the broadest claims for the actually new features. 
Your patent secured by the second method is better 
for another reason : Suppose, for example, your in- 
vention consists in making a peculiar fold, ditiering 
but very slightly from a fold theretofore made, in a 
sheet or blank of tin, in the manufacture of fruit 



24 . E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

cans, whereby you secure a tight joint without solder, 
and save one per cent, of stock in each can. Now, 
as cans are made by the million, your invention is 
worth thousands of dollars to each can-factory in the 
country where it may be used. Under the first method, 
the general tenor of your whole description, drawings, 
and claims would be as tfiough you were the tirst to 
make any fold which would accomplish the saving, 
&c. Your patent, to the uninformed purchaser, 
would sound *'loud, large, and broad," but to the ex- 
perienced manufacturer, who knows a patent when he 
sees one and who is thoroughly conversant with all 
the ''wrinkles" of can-making, and to a court having 
jurisdiction of your suit against an infringer of the 
patentjits loudness, largeness, and breadth shrink into 
nothingness when compared with the numerous pat- 
ents cited as references and with sample cans made in 
accordance with such patents; and in nine of sue!) 
cases out of ten the court would decide that the very 
slight difference in the fold does not amount to inven- 
tion., and would also declare your patent void for 
lack of patentable novelty over the patents cited. 
The court would say "mechanical skill" alone would 
suggest the ver}' slight change you have made. Now, 
if your application had been prepared with a clear, 
open statement that folds somewhat similar had there- 
tofore been made, and that the only difference in your 
invention from previous constructions was ihQ jpeculiar 
fold specified, by means of which you not only secured 
as tight a joint as heretofore, but also saved one per 
cent, of the cost of each can, which, multiplied by the 
millions manufactured, made a vast sum, and was 
therefore a great benefit to the public, not only during 
the life of your patent, but also for all time after it 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 25 

shall have expired, the court would without doubt 
consider the invention patentable, though very slight in 
degree, and the patent as valid. 

This illustration is based on sound doctrine. 

In the U. S. Circuit Court of Southern Ohio, Jus- 
tice Swayne, in the case of The Miller & Peters Man- 
ufacturing Co. V. DuBrul, held that 'Uhe validity of 
a patent is not determined by the degree of novelty or 
invention displayed, but it is sufficient if there exists 
some novelty and merit, however slight. 

Who Makes the Application. 

Joint inventors are entitled to a joint patent; 
neither can claim one separately. Independent invent- 
ors of distinct improvements in the same machine 
cannot obtain a joint patent for their joint inventions. 
Where one furnishes the capital and another makes 
the invention, the inventor alone makes the applica- 
tion, while the patent granted thereon may be issued 
to both jointly. (See Assignments, page 53.) 

If an inventor dies^ application for a patent may be 
made by his executor, executrix, administrator, or 
administratrix. In case of an assignment of the whole 
invention before the patent, or of the whole interest 
in the patent, the application must be made by the 
inventor alone, if living. 

What Constitutes an Application. 

A petition signed by the inventor; a specification, 
including a description of the invention, its construc- 
tion and operation, distinguishing what is new from 
what is old, and clear, definite claims, expressed in 
formal terms and complying with the law, rules, and 
5 



26 • E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

decisions governing practice, signed by the inventor 
and attested by two witnesses; an oath, relating to 
inventorship, public use and sale, and other facts 
regarding the invention, signed by the inventor and 
attested by the jurat, signature, and seal of a proper 
officer; drawings illustrating the invention (in cases 
admitting of drawings), and, when required, a model, 
or, in cases of composition of matter, samples of the 
same and of the ingredients thereof, when required. 

In signing your name alioays write one given name 
in full, as "John " H. Smith or J '' Henry " Smith. 

Drawings. 

The law (and rules 48 to 54) requires "the appli- 
cant for a patent to furnish a drawing of his invention 
w^jere the nature of the case admits of it." 

These drawings, in order to be capable of repro- 
duction " by the photolithographic or other analogous 
process, nmst be brought as nearly as possible to a 
uniform standard of excellence." (Rule 50.) Other 
rules prescribe certain technical and artistic requisites, 
which only experienced artists can meet. 

Kule 54 reads in part: "Applicants are advised to 
employ competent artists to make their drawings." 
Drawings which fall below the standard will not be 
received by the Patent Office. 

All drawings furnished by me are prepared directly 
under my own supervision and by my draftsmen, who 
are experienced in making Patent-Office drawings, 
and I guarantee the acceptance by the Office of all 
drawings which I furnish. 

The charge for drawings is |5 for a single sheet and 
$4 for each additional sheet. One sheet is sufficietit 
for ordinary cases. 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 27 

Yon will readily acknowledge the importance of 
furnishing not only artistic, but clear drawings. They 
form a part of your patent ; and skillful designing and 
judicious selection of different views, elevations, and 
sections of the invention will contribute in a great 
measure to the commercial value of your patent. 
Clear drawings also enable persons not skilled in 
mechanics (as, perhaps, some of our judges before 
whom drawings are brought in patent cases) to more 
readily understand the invention, and thus your rights 
under your patent are the more completely protected. 

In order to preserve the original drawings from 
injury in the mails, that they may be accepted by the 
Patent Office when tiled with the remaining papers 
constituting your application, I send you instead ^' blue- 
print copies," which I make by a process of exposure 
to the direct rays of the sun of the original drawings 
on a sheet of chemically-prepared paper. These copies 
are exact /ac similes, line for line and letter for letter, 
except that the black lines of the original are white in 
the copy and the white paper of the original is repre- 
sented by a blue paper in the copy. 

I make no charge for these copies, and if desired 
they may be retained by you. 

Models. 

Rule 55, Office Practice, reads in part as follows : 
''A model will not be required or admitted as a part 

of the application until, on examination of the case in 

its regular order, the Primary Examiner shall tind it 

to be necessary or useful." 

Generally, no model is required for filing in the 

Patent Office, and none is absolutely essential in pre- 



28 ■ E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

paring j^our application ; but I am free to advise you 
that if you have made or can make one, however 
cheaply made, it is of great use in preparing the appli- 
cation. However, in a very large majority of cases, 
sketches, drawings, tin-types, or photographs are suf- 
ficient. Always put the name of the inventor on the 
model in some permanent manner, and when the 
application is allowed the model will be returned to 
you, if so requested at the time of sending to me, unless 
required by the Office. Upon such request I mark 
the model '^ To be Returned," and place it in the 
closed cases of my office until the patent is allowed. 
By retaining the model it is ready for filing in the 
Patent Office in case the Examiner should require 
one, as stated in the Rule quoted. 

The size of the model should be limited to one foot 
in length, breadth, and height, though this rule is not 
rigidly enforced. Even complete machines, such as 
sewing and knitting machines, type-writers, and tele- 
graphic instruments, are preferred as models, when 
required. Improvements in machines may be illus- 
trated by models of only the parts improved. 

Send your model by mail or express, (charges pre- 
paid.) (See Mailable Matter, page 31.) 

Time Required to Secure Patent. 

While some of the twenty-eight Divisions of the 
Patent Office are substantially up to date with their 
work, others are several months behind. This con- 
dition of the work is the result of the lack of a force 
of Examiners adequate to the number and character 
of the applications filed. The number of applications 
is increasing every year, and the inventions are, more 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 29 

largely than ever before in the history of the Office, 
such as require increased time and skill in their 
treatment. 

All applications are taken up for examination in 
the order of tiling — that is, if John Smith's applica- 
tion for a patent on a Harvester is tiled complete in 
all its parts on the 10th of the month, and yours, also 
for a Harvester, is tiled on the 11th, Smith's applica- 
tion will, under the present practice, be examined 
before your application receives any attention. Again, 
Smith's application may be for an invention in Fire- 
Engines, and will be reached in one month, while 
yours, being perhaps Improvements in Looms, would 
not be reached in six months, if the Division having 
charge of that class of inventions were that much be- 
hind in its work. So that it depends upon the state 
of the work of the Division of the Patent Office to 
which your case is assigned as to how long it ^vill take 
to secure your patent. This matter is one entirely 
beyond your control or mine, the rule being " cast- 
iron " and without deviation, except on request of an 
officer of the General Government, and then only 
"when the invention is deemed of peculiar import- 
ance to some branch of the public service." (Rule 
62, Office Practice.) 

No unnecessary delay shall occur on my part, and 
the only remedy which inventors have is that each 
shall impress his Member of Congress or Senator with 
the importance of urging legislation looking to an 
increase of force in the Patent Office. As the invent- 
ors of this country, by the Government fees which 
they pay, are putting half a million of dollars into 
the Treasury every year, they have undoubted right 
to demand that a portion at least of that sum shall be 



30 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

expended for their benefit. Bear this in mind, and 
use your influence accordingly. 

A First Step Toward Securing a Patent. 

From what I have said, you will perceive that the 
first thing for you to do is to send to the following 
address — 

E. B. Stocking, Atfy, 
0pp. Patent Office, 
Washing ton, I). C, 

a rough drawing, photograph, tin-type, model, or full- 
sized machine or sample of your invention, and (if 
you desire a preliminary search and report) $5, to- 
gether with as much of a description as you think 
necessary of the object, purpose, use, and operation 
of your invention. 

If you do not send the $5, you will get my re;ort 
as to patentability, and I will honestly and clearly 
state whether or not, in my opinion, a patent can be 
secured; but you will not expect me to report on 
other matters which are included and covered in and 
by a formal preliminary search or examination. 

(ISToTE. — The above address is g-iven for mailing and express 
purposes. Personal visits, though not at all necessary, are 
always pleasant, and I therefore give my street and number, 
namely, 615 Seventh street N". W.) 

Mailable Matter. 

Packages weighing not over four pounds can be 
sent as merchandise — that is unsealed, so that the 
contents can be inspected if desired — by mail for one 
cent for every ounce, so that, as is quite customary, 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 31 

small rQodels and packages, from cigar-box sizes down, 
are safely and promptly sent by mail. Larger models 
and machines are sent by express, charges prepaid. 

A Second Step Toward Securing a Patent. 

With my report as to patentability, if it states your 
invention to be patentable, I call upon you for $20 
(to start the case), an amount equal to the first Gov- 
ernment filing or application fee, and $5, the cost of 
(one sheet of) drawing required by the Government. 
Upon receipt of $20 I immediately order my drafts- 
man to prepare the drawings, which is done under my 
personal supervision ; and as soon as completed, the 
application, with a blue-print /ac simile of the drawing, 
is mailed to you with full instructions for executing 
the same, and, w^hen executed, the papers are returned 
to me for tiling. My fee in ordinary cases is |25. 
If your case is not ordinary, that is, if it involves in its 
preparation and prosecution more than ordinary si^ill 
and labor, my fee will be increased in proportion, and 
stated in my first report. All cases are to be coiisidered 
ordinary unless at the time of making my report and 
call for the first Government fee and cost of drawings 
1 require a larger fee. You will not incur any debt 
or obligation without our mutual agreement as to what 
my fees are to be. I, however, have one rule of 
business which I never deviate from, and that is, I 
never prepare an application until I have received at 
least $20, as before stated, to show good faith upon 
the part of the applicant. 

Upon receipt of the appUcation you should carefully 
examine it, and return with it, and on a separate paper, 
any changes or additions which you wish, and I will 



32 . E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

cheerfully attend to the same. When received, your 
application will be at once tiled in the Patent Office, 
and the official receipt thereof will, if requested, be sent 
jou as soon as received by me. 

In the Office. 

Upon reaching your application for examination 
the Examiner first looks to matters of form; and if he 
finds it informal in any material respect, no action 
will be taken upon its merits — that is, touching the 
question of patentability — until all material formal 
objections are removed. 

It is just at this point that persons who attempt to 
prosecute their own applications meet with obstacles, 
and it is not unusual for unskilled ''patent agents" to 
become entangled in the various rigid, yet wise, re- 
quirements of the law governing the granting of pat- 
ents. Many applications for patents for valuable 
inventions are now lying rejected in the Office simply 
on account of informalities which by skillful treatment 
can be remedied and valid patents secured thereon. 
(See Kejected Applications, page 35.) 

There being no vital informalities, 3'our application 
is then examined upon its merits, and by a careful 
comparison of your invention with those similar to it 
shown (whether c/azm^c? or not) in existing or previously- 
granted patents, foreign or domestic, or described in 
any published work, the Examiner decides whether or 
not he will allow you a patent with the claims as you 
present them in your application. 

In a very large majority of cases the application is 
rejected, the Examiner usually specifying the claims 
which in his opinion are not allowable, and citing as 
references certain previous patents or publications as 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 33 

anticipating your invention, as set forth in the rejected 
claims. 

Your Attorney then reviews the application, with 
copies of the patents cited before him, and either 
strikes out or withdraws the claims rejected thereon, 
or, in writing, alters or amends the terms of the claims 
so as to make it for and to cover a different invention 
from that shown in the references cited, or he, in 
writing, refuses to alter the claims in any respect, and 
asks tlie Examiner to reconsider his decision and allow 
the claims. This refusal to amend or cancel the claim 
is accompanied by an argument, in writing, setting 
forth the reasons for the refusal and why the claims 
should be allowed. 

The Exai]\iner thereupon again examines the claims, 
in view of the reasons given, and he may allow said 
claims, or he may either modify or insist upon and 
adhere to his rejection of the same. This course is 
pursued with each claim presented, and if your attor- 
ney still refuses to erase any claim, an appeal is neces- 
sary in order to secure said claim. (See Appeals, 
page 40.) 

It is undoubtedly of great advantage to inventors 
to employ an attorney who is right on the ground, as 
by personal interviews with Examiners explanations 
can be more expeditiously and clearly made than by 
long, .tedious correspondence. Very often written 
expressions, even in ottice letters, as well as in appli- 
cations, amendments, and arguments, are either vague 
or misleading, when the idea sought to be conveyed 
can be readily set forth by a very few^ words at a per- 
sonal interview. 

I deem it proper to make a statement at this point 
regarding the Examining Corps of the Office : 

Rejected applicants are either naturally inclined, or 
6 



34 • E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

led, by unprincipled and incompetent "patent agents," 
to believe that the Examiners, from mere willfuhiess, 
dehght to reject their applications. Nothing can be 
further from the truth. The Examiners as a class are 
intelligent, competent, conscientious gentlemen, who 
have, and are entitled to have, their opinion as to the 
clear requirements of tlie law and rules of practice 
governing them in their official acts, and they are as 
a class liberally inclined to allow inventors just as 
broad claims and as many of them as in tlieir opinion 
are permissible in view of the state of the art. The 
rights of previous inventors and of the public at large 
are entitled to careful consideration, while the best 
interests of the rejected appHcants lie in a prevention 
of their obtaining patents with broader claims than 
they are entitled to under the law\ 

Therefore, if an Examiner and your Attoiney dis- 
agree in regard to your application, the proper course 
is, in the best of temper, to take an appeal to the next 
higher tribunal, where three judges, instead of one, 
hear and determine the appeal, l^ersonal feelirg has 
nothing to do with the niatter ; the rejection of claims 
is entirely a matter of opinion, which only expert log- 
ical treatment, on appeal, can set aside and overcome. 
(See Appeals, page 40.) 

After all informalities are coriected and the claims 
brought to a breadth mutually satisfactoi'y to the 
Examiner and your Attorney, the application is 
allowed. 

It now goes to the Issue Division of the Office, 
where, after the final Government fee (which is in 
all cases |20) is paid, the patent is prepared for 
issue. 

As there are from three to live hundred patents 
issued weekly, about twenty days, after the |)ayment 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 35 

of tlje tiiml fee, are required in which to print and 
otherwise prepare your application (and all others to 
be issued in the same week) for issue. The patent is 
therefore mailed to your address about twenty days 
after you pay your final fee. 

Printed Copies of Patents. 

Printed copies of your patent, with copies of draw- 
ings attached, can be procured in single numbers at 
twenty-five cents each, the regular Government price; 
and lil^e copies of all other patents (when not ex- 
hausted) can be furnished you at the same rate. A 
deduction will be made when you order through me 
five or more copies. 

When ordering copies of patents, always give the 
number of the patent, or its date, or the name of the 
inventor and of the invention, and at least the year 
in which the patent was granted. 

If you send insufiicient information, so that time is 
required to find or ascertain the necessary data to pro- 
cure copies of patents, a reasonable charge for such 
time will be added to tlie cost of the copies. 

Rejected Applications. 

Because you have received a letter from the Com- 
missioner of Patents informing you that your applica- 
tion is rejected, it is by no means true, or to be 
understood, that you cannot secure a patent for your 
invention. 

Your case has been examined only by one official, 
while the law provides two other tribunals within the 
Patent Office to whom you can, at a very reasonable 
expense, submit your case. 



db . E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

I have, under the headifig "In the Office" (see 
page 32), indicated somewhat the treatment of appli- 
cations by the Primary Examiner. 

It) after a sldllful presentation of your case and a 
clear exposition of its novel features, and its advant- 
ages in use, operation, and results have been made in 
vv^riting and at personal interviews, (when permitted,) 
the Examiner refuses to modify or change his opinion 
and decision, you have further remedy by appeal (see 
page 40). But appeals are not always necessary. My 
long experience in and out of the Patent Office has 
enabled me to quickly, and in a very large majority of 
cases correctly f determine, after an examination of your 
rejected application and the reference cited and rea- 
sons given by the Examiner for rejecting the same, 
whether I can secure a patent for you. 

I can refer to a very large number of cases in 
which I have secured patents on applications which 
have been rejected. 

I generally discover some new feature, some differ- 
ence in the construction, operation, or advantages of 
the invention, which has been overlooked by both 
the Exavmier and the applicant. You can readily 
understand how a conscientious Examiner can modify 
his opinion or even reverse his own decision in a case, 
if an entirely new feature is skillfully and clearly 
brought to his attention. 

It is undoubtedly a great advantage to have your 
Attorney "right on the ground." In many cases an 
accidental meeting in the Office between your Attor- 
ney and an Examiner saves the time and labor of 
writing a letter. The Examiner at that moment may 
have temporarily left his desk, with your case upon it 
and in course of examination, and with slight doubts 
as to the construction shown, described, and claimed. 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 37 

or of the meaning intended to be conveyed by certain 
expressions in your application, when he undoubtedly 
would ask your Attorney for any desired information. 
It is an established custom of some Examiners to 
leave word at the "Attorneys' Room " in the Patent 
Office building for a certain attorney to call at his 
room for corrections or amendments which, though 
necessary, are hardly sufficient to cause delay in your 
case (and in other work) for the purpose of writing a 
formal letter. 

I think, in view of the limited force and pressure of 
business, this custom is to be commended. The Exami- 
ners who practice it are certainly among those who 
keep their Divisions well up to date in their work. 

If you or any of your friends have a rejected appli- 
cation, and desire me to examine the same, and to 
report to you whether or not in my opinion I can 
secure a patent, send me $5 and a Power of Attorney, 
in the following words : 

Honorable Commissioner of Patents : Please recog- 
nize E. B. Stocking, Washington, D. C, as my attor- 
ney, with full power to amend in any manner required 

my application. No , tiled on or about the 

day of , 188 , for a patent for 

I hereby revoke all previous powers of attorney 
granted in said application. 

(Signed) " , 

Inventor. 

Dated this day of , 188 . 

Note. — An assignee of the entire patent may sign 
the above, (Rule 20,) in which case write " Sole As- 
signee" instead of "Inventor." 



38 • E. B. STOCKING^ ATTORNEY, 

The blank spaces should be filled out as far as pos- 
sible. If you have any letter from the Commissioner 
of Patents in regard to the application, that letter will, 
or should, give every fact necessary to a complete fill- 
ing out of the blank spaces in the above form. 

My fee for prosecuting the application will be made 
known when I report upon the case, and it will be 
from |25 up, according to the amount of labor and 
skill involved in its further prosecution. Some re- 
jected applications (especially those bad in form) 
require entire rewriting, while others require new or 
additional drawings, and all require a careful con.- 
sideration, which involves a perfectly clear under- 
standing of your invention in all its details, and a 
complete knowledge of the inventions disclosed by 
the references cited. Kejected applications are also 
" clouded " by the fact that the Examiner has already 
arrived at a conclusion ; but, as before stated, if the 
requisite skill, attained only by being experienced, 
is put to work, success will in a majority of cases 
be achieved, and you will be put in possession of your 
patent, and can proceed to practice your invention 
or transfer your rights to your intended purchaser. 

One more point as to rejected applications: It is 
an actual fact that the courts have been led to sustain 
patents for slight inventions by reason of their allow- 
ance by the Commissioner after many adverse de- 
cisions. 

Abandoned and Forfeited Applications. 

An abandoned application is one which has not 
been completed and prepared for examination within 
two years after filing the petition, or which the appli- 



I 

I 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 39 

cant (or his attorney) has failed to prosecute (amend, 
&c.) within two years after any action therein b}' the 
Commissioner of Patents, of which notice has been 
duly given (by Office letter), or an application in which 
the applicant has filed a formal abandoimient in 
waiting. 

An application abandoned by reason of a failure to 
prosecute can, by proper practice, be renewed; but a 
new oath, specification, drawing, and filing fee are 
required. The old model, if suitable, may be used. 
(Kule 167.) 

A forfeited application is one which has been once 
allowed, but because the applicant has failed to pay 
the Government final or issue fee within the time 
prescribed by law (six months from date of notice of 
allowance), the patent is withheld. Forfeited cases 
may be renewed by either the inventor or any person 
(as an assignee) having an interest in the invention. 
In forfeited cases a new^ fihng fee and also the issue 
fee will be required to be paid to the Government. 
(Pvule 170.) 

There is no reason to doubt that many valuable 
inventions are disclosed in the abandoned and for- 
feited applications now in the Office, and you may be 
interested in one, either as applicant or assignee. In 
many cases fortunes have been made by purchasing 
the inventions of applicants of this class, who w^ould 
not so cheaply part with their rights did they but 
know that there is a proper way provided of yet se- 
curing a patent. 

My fee for reviving abandoned and forfeited appli- 
cations is from §25 up, according to the labor involved 
in each case. I will require Power of Attorney (see 
form for same, page 37), and when received I will 



40 

examine and report whether or not success is probable. 
You must remit with the power of attorney $5, to 
cover charges for time required for examination of 
the application and references cited, and for my re- 
port. 

Inclose the power of attorney and postal order or note 
with your letter to me, as without the Power of Attorney 
I cannot see your application. The fee of $5 will also 
cover cost of copies of all references necessary to a 
clear and full report. 

Appeals. 

l^ever despair of securing jowv patent until you 
have exerted yourself in every proper way. The courts 
and the Patent Office expect inventors to be persistent 
in their claims, and a failure to appeal against adverse 
decisions is held to be an indication of an intention 
on the part of the inventor to abandon or dedicate his 
invention to the public. 

I never advise applicants to appeal from adverse 
decisions unless I believe there is a reasonable pros- 
pect of success. My reason for the above is that I 
do not wish to acquire a reputation in the appellate 
tribunals in and out of the Patent Office of an attorney 
who pleads '^'thin causes." 

I never hesitate to argue the merits of slight inven- 
tions, provided such merits exist. 

You will not only be advised of my opinion as to 
ultimate success by appeal, but you will receive at least 
the main points upon which my opinion is based, and 
a fair and most favorable statement of the facts upon 
which the Examiner, Board, or Commissioner relies. 
You can then exercise your own judgment as to whether 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 41 

jou will authorize an appeal and bear the expense re- 
quired in the matter of the Government and attorney's 
fees. As hereinbefore stated, the courts regard with 
favor patents for doubtful inventions — that is, are loath 
to declare them invalid for ^«cZ:of invention-^and the 
rejected applicant is not only expected to appeal in 
regular order to the various tribunals, even to the 
court of last resort, but he is rewarded in the end by 
the faithful upholding of his patent when it is in- 
fringed. 

Upon a second and iinal rejection by the Primary 
Examiner of any of the claims set up in your appli- 
cation, you can take an appeal to the Board of Ex- 
aminers-in-Chief. There are three members of the 
Board, and they joinili/ hear and examine your appli- 
cation in so far as the rejected claims are concerned. 
They have no aMthority to reject other claims which the 
Primary Examiner may have allowed. 

Each member of the Board is a gentleman of ability, 
experience, and free from bias and prejudice, having 
no personal interest in an}- matter on which he is 
called to pass an opinion ; and your greatest advant- 
age before this tribunal is that you have three trained 
judges to appeal to instead of a single judge (the 
Primary Examiner); and if you convince two of the 
three of the justice of your claim, success is won. 
Furthermore, if you convince but one member of the 
Board, your case is still in good condition to take to 
the next higher tribunal — that is, to the Commissioner 
in person — who may, and often does, reverse the ad- 
verse decisions of both the Board and of the Primary 
Examiner. 

The Government appeal fees are as follows: 

From the Primary Examiner to the Board, $10 ; 
from the Board to the Commissioner, $20. 



42 . E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

My fees are — 

Appeal to Board, $15 and upward ; appeal to Com- 
missioner in person, |20 and upward^ according to the 
nature of tlie invention, whether simple or complex, 
and the labor and skill involved in the case. 

If jou desire me to examine and report upon your 
rejected case, send power of attorney (see page 87) 
and $5, and I will promptly inform you of prospects 
of and reasons for or against success. 

Reissues. 

Reissues are granted to original patentees, their 
legal representatives, or to the assignees of the entire 
interest, when, by reason of a defective or insufficient 
specification, the original patent is inoperative or in- 
valid, provided the error has arisen from inadvert- 
ence, accident, or mistake, and without any fraudu- 
lent or deceptive intention. (R. S., sees. 4895 and 
4916.) 

A skillfully prepared and prosecuted original appli- 
cation rarely, if ever, requires a reissue of the patent 
granted thereon. 

To indicate to you the importance of employing a 
competent attorney in the preparation and prosecu- 
tion of your original application, as well as the abso- 
lute necessity of trained skill in securing a reissue, 
and some of the difficulties attending this branch of 
patent practice, I believe nothing better can be done 
than to present a summarized statement of recent 
rulings of the courts. 

Heretofore the privilege of reissue has been so 
abused that in the U. S. Supreme and Circuit Courts 
our judges have, in my opinion and that of every 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 43 

Other judicious friend of the patent system of the 
country, wisely drawn the lines to the conditions and 
limits laid down in the law ; and although many man- 
ufacturers have been obliged to be more cautious in 
regard to contesting their rights based on reissued 
patents, yet I believe no class of investors in patented 
inventions are more largely benefited by the recently- 
adopted course of the courts than these same manu- 
facturers, while inventors as an entire class, together 
with the public at large, have been educated up to a 
clearer understanding of their rights. It is exceed- 
ingly fortunate for all concerned that our judges have 
withstood the ravings of prejudiced, piratical oppo- 
nents of property rights in inventions as vouchsafed 
in the Constitution and laws of this country, and have 
based all their decisions and all their requirements of 
inventors and patentees upon an entirely just, and 
even hberal, construction of the laws governing the 
granting of patents. 

The words ^'inoperative or invalid" in the statute 
authorizing reissues means inoperative or invalid in 
whole or in part. (Hartshorn v. Eagle Shade Roller 
Co. etaL, decided October 11th, 1883, 21 O. G., 1191.) 
And in the same case the Court (Judge Lowell), U. S. 
District Court, Mass., says: ''A delay of more time 
than would be reasonably sufficient to read the patent 
and asceitain its need of amendment should be ac- 
counted laches in a case where enlargement of a claim 
is the only aniendment," 

It has been intimated, however, by the United States 
Supreme Court that they regard two years as the 
natural limit of delay in analogy to the provisions of 
law respecting the public use of an invention. The 
right to have corrections made by reissues may be 



44 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

abandoned and lost by unreasonable delay. (Turrell i?. 
Bradford et al, decided March 22d, 1883, 23 0. G., 
1623.) And in that case the reissued patent, being much 
broader than the original, was declared void. The 
law provides and allows reissues for corrections, but 
not for alterations. Generally speaking, the invention 
covered (although more perfectly) by the reissue must 
be the same as that set forth as novel in the original. 
In Doane & Wellington Man'f 'g Co. v. Smith, decided 
December 27th, 1882, (24 O. G., 802,) the Court 
(Judge Wheeler) says: "If the description of these 
parts had only been more full and particular in the 
reissue, or if distinct functions of the parts not before 
mentioned had been newly set forth, or functions 
before mentioned had been wholly omitted, so long 
as the devices and their mode of operation as described 
remained the same the reissue might not be avoided 
for showing a different invention, although it might 
be for the enlargement of the claim after such a lapse 
of time." 

If your patent has not been in force more than 
two years (some exceptional cases may permit of a 
longer time), you should examine it carefully and see 
whether or not it is faulty, and if so, immediately 
take steps for its correction by reissue. My fee for 
reissuing a patent depends upon the character of the 
invention and the circumstances surrounding the case. 

The preparation and prosecution of reissues involve 
a thorough knowledge of the state of the art, gained 
by experience and by examination of all previous 
patents, foreign and domestic, and an intimate ac- 
quaintance with the recent decisions of the courts and 
of the Commissioner of Patents. 

The preliminary examination and report as to the 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 45 

advisability of reissuing a patent and as to the prob- 
ability of securing the reissue is nothing less than a 
written opinion as to the scope and validity of the 
original patent, involving an amount of labor varying 
with the character of the invention, and also an opin- 
ion as to the scope and validity of the reissue, and of 
each division. thereof, if made when secured. My fee 
for such services is $25 and upward; and if a reissue 
is found to be advisable, and therefore prosecuted, a 
separate attorney's fee for the preparation and prosecu- 
tion of the reissue application is required; and where 
more than one reissue application is based on the origi- 
nal patent, a separate Government filing fee and a separ- 
ate attorney's fee are required in each division, though 
I usually modify my fees in accordance with the number 
of divisions made. 

The Government filing fee is |30 for each reissue 
and for each division. No issue fee is required by 
the Government. 

Interferences. 

An interference is a proceeding instituted for the 
purpose of determining which one of two or more 
parties claiming substantially the same invention is 
entited to a patent for such invention. 

It sometimes happens that two or more parties have 
applications pending at the same time in which the 
same invention is shown, described, and claimed by 
each. In view of the thousands of applications filed 
each year, it is a great wonder that more interferences 
do not occur than is actually the fact. 

The general outline of an interference may be stated 
briefly as follows: 

John Doe and Kichard Roe apply for a patent for 



46 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

an invention which each has independently made. 
Doe may reside in California and Koe in Maine, and 
both may be truly an original inventor, but the law 
authorizes the Commissioner to grant the patent only 
to the first and original inventor; hence both cannot 
receive the patent. 

Doe and Roe are each required to file a preliminary 
statement, under oath, giving the history of his inven- 
tion. The care and skill in preparing this document 
become manifest, in many cases, after it is too late to 
remedy the fatal results of a badly-drawn preliminary 
statement. 

A reasonable time is given Doe to summon wit- 
nesses for examination, under oath, touching any facts 
going to show that he (Doe) first conceived of, disclosed 
to others, and reduced to actual use the invention in 
controversy, while at the same time and place Roe, 
or his attorney, cross-examines Doe and his witnesses, 
in order to get at the exact truth as well as the actual 
accomplishments of Doe, 

Another date is set for Roe to establish his date of 
conception, disclosure, and reduction to practice, when 
and where Doe's attorney is present to cross-examine. 
Other dates are also set for taking testimony in re- 
buttal, if either desires. Another date is set for each 
to tile their (printed) testimony and briefs, exhibits, 
sketches, drawings, models, and machines, and to sub- 
mit briefs and arguments before the Examiner of In- 
terferences. The Examiner of Interferences has no 
authority to decide any other question than which is 
the Jirst and reasonably diligent inventor, and he 
decides this question on the evidence filed and argu- 
ment submitted. 

There probably is no branch of patent practice which 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 47 

calls for greater ability in an attorney than the suc- 
cessfal conduct of a case through an interference 
proceeding. A knowledge of mechanics, of the prin- 
ciples of mechanical equivalents, jointure of inventor- 
ship, the relation of employer and employe, the 
principles governing public use and abandonment, 
the rules of evidence, and the code of procedure es- 
tablished by law in such cases and enforced by courts 
of equity, and numerous technical matters usually 
attending litigations, are all essential to uniform 
success. 

This being the nature of an interference proceed- 
ing, and the requirements of a successful result thereof 
being so positive, it is unnecessary for you to be further 
convinced of the necessity of having your interests 
represented by a thoroughly competent attorney. I 
can give special references to clients for whom I have 
conducted important interests through contests of this 
character. 

It is by no means a settled question or fact that you 
cannot secure a patent for your invention simply be- 
cause another person has secured a patent for the same. 
If you believe that you are the first inventor, you 
should make an application for a patent, and request 
an interference with such party, when, although the 
Commissioner cannot annul the patent already granted, 
he can and will (upon satisfactory proof that you are 
the first inventor, and that you have not been guilty 
of negligence in securing your rights) grant you a pat- 
ent also for the same invention, thus putting you and 
the other patentee on an equal footing before the pub- 
lic and the courts. 

The expense of interference proceedings varies from 
$100 upward, according to the extent to which they 



48 E. B. STOCKING;, ATTORNEY, 

are carried before the facts are put upon record which 
are sufficient to settle the question of priority of inven- 
tion, the number of parties involved, the remoteness 
of places in which testimony is required to be taken, 
and the time required of, and labor involved upon, 
your attorney. 

I usually charge $25 for preparing and filing the 
preliminary statement and reporting the full status 
of your case at the (officially regulated) time that the 
statements of all the parties to the contest are opened, 
examined, and approved by the Examiner of Interfer- 
ences, before which time they are not opened to 
inspection by the parties or their attorneys. In this 
report I give 3'OU the dates set up by every contest- 
ant, to which, by the rules of practice, he is restricted 
thereafter (unless he obtains consent to amend his 
preliminary statement, for which the rules also pro- 
vide). I also render to you a written opinion, giving 
facts and reasons therefor, which will enable you 
to judge of the propriety of continuing the contest. 
I also clearly and Fionestly state whether or not, in 
my opinion, you will in the end succeed in receiving 
a decision of priority in your favor, and consequently 
a patent covering the invention in controversy. 

I have said enough to convince you that if your 
invention does not possess intrinsic manufacturing or 
commercial value an interference should not be con- 
tested. 

On the other hand, the failure to proceed at least 
to the filing of your preliminary statement would seem 
to be an act of negligence on your part if your inven- 
tion has any value whatever. 

Furthermore, where others promptly contest the 
question of priority, it is a reliable indication that the 



49 

invention is of a value far greater tliaii the expense 
of the controversy ; and where there is no question as 
to its value, no inventor need suffer loss of his case 
for lack of funds to contest it, as manufacturers and 
capitaUsts understand too well the advantages inherent 
in patents secured by contest to lose an opportunity 
of securing an interest or control of the same by 
refusing to advance the necessary expenses of the 
contest. 

Caveats. 

The object and effect of a caveat is to give a certain 
limited protection to an incomplete invention, in order 
that the inventor may take further time to complete 
the same. 

The "protection" that a caveat gives is simply an 
official notice from the Commissioner of Patents of 
any application which may be tiled by another during 
the life (one year from the date of tiling) of the caveat 
for an invention like that embraced in the caveat ; and 
if such notice is received, the caveator must, in a 
limited time, complete his invention and bear the 
expense of an interference proceeding before a patent 
can be granted to any party. 

If you wish further time to experiment and devise 
subsidiary means to render your invention complete 
and operative, then a caveat is the proper means of 
protection. 

If your invention is not patentable, your caveat will 
(according to the present practice of the Office) be 
received and filed in the secret archives of the Office, 
and you will receive no notice if any applications are 
received for the same invention, because those appli- 
cations will be rejected on existing patents or other 
9 



50 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

references or reasons. Hence you will be paying $10 
a year for nothing. Therefore your invention nnust 
not only be incomplete, but also patentable. 

Preliminary Examination (see page 21) should be 
taken advantage of, even if your invention is incom- 
plete, as it will disclose whether it would be well to 
expend the Government fee for a caveat or for a 
formal application when the invention is completed. 

The Government fee ($10) is renewable each year; 
my fee is $15; both payable in advance. No model 
required. 

You can send a rough sketch and a short description 
of the invention, together with the fees, when papers 
properly prepared will be returned (usually by return 
mail) for execution ; and when said papers are received 
by me the caveat will be promptly tiled. 

Design Patents. 

In a certain sense this is a special branch of patent 
practice, requiring apt judgment and discernment as 
well as artistic taste ; and manufacturers of textile 
fabrics, pottery, jewelry, silverware, type, stoves, and, 
in fact, all articles of manufacture which appeal to the 
eye, and which are constantly changing in form, know 
the commercial advantages of securing that perfect 
protection which a skillfully- worded specification and 
claim provides. The proceedings to secure design 
patents are substantially like those had in mechanical 
applications. 

The existence of thousands of design patents hitherto 
granted render preliminary searches as to novelty 
necessary in order that fruitless expenditure in Gov- 
ernment and attorney's fees may be avoided and 



51 

adequately broad claims secured to protect jour de- 
sign in its whole novelty. 

I require either a drawing, photograph, or engraving 
of your design, or a sample article from which draw- 
ings may be made, or, what is preferable, eleven un- 
mounted photographs or engravings (not exceeding 7 
by 11 inches), and $5 to pay for the preliminary 
examination or search as to novelty and my report 
thereon. If your design is found patentable, the 
necessary papers will be prepared and transmitted to 
you for execution in accordance with instructions which 
will accompany them. You then return the papers 
to me with the Government fee — $10 for a 3J years' 
patent ($15 for seven years and |30 for fourteen years) 
— and with my fee for preparing and prosecuting the 
case before the Primary Examiner, $15. Your appli- 
cation will be filed and carefully prosecuted, and as 
soon as the patent is allowed and received from the 
Grovernment it will be forwarded to you. 

jSTote. — If drawing is to be made by me from the article itself, 
or from yonr drawing, an additional charge of at least $5 will be 
made. It is therefore less expensive for you to furnish eleven 
unmounted photographs or engravings. 

Trade-Marks. 

A trade-mark is a distinctive non-descriptive name 
or symbol, or both, employed to indicate the source or 
manufacture of any article of merchandise to which 
the mark is applied. 

The United States Supreme Court has declared the 
Trade-Mark Act of July, 1870, unconstitutional, and 
the thousands of marks registered under its provisions 



52 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

should be re-registered under and in accordance with 
the provisions of the act of March, 1881. 

As it is unlawful to use any trade-mark registered 
in connection with any similar class of goods, a pre- 
liminary examination and report should always be 
had, showing whether or not your mark is registerable. 

My fee for search, examination, and report is $5, 
and it may save you the expense of a formal applica- 
tion for registration, the Government fee being |25, 
and my fee from |10 to $15, according to the labor 
involved and the expense of illustrating the case. 

The term of registration is thirty years, and may be 
renewed for thii^ty years more. 

Words merely descriptive of the article, or the name 
of the manufacturer or firm, cannot be registered as a 
trade-mark, nor can a trade-mark be protected by a 
copyright. 

To be valid in foreign countries, trade marks must 
be registered according to the laws thereof. By for-, 
eign registry manufacturers secure a monopoly of the 
goods in foreign markets, (See page 59.) Send me 
|5, eleven copies of your mark, name, residence, place 
of business, and citizenship of the party, firm, or cor- 
poration, with names of officers, name of goods in 
connection with which mark has been or is intended 
to be used, length of time it has been used, if any, and 
the name of any foreign country or tribe of Indians 
with which sales and (some) shipment of the goods have 
been had. Foreign trade under the law is requisite to 
give validity to registration. If the mark is not found 
to have been previously registered for similar goods, 
the papers will be at once prepared and transmitted for 
your execution of the same, and upon return of the 
papers and the Government fee — 125 — together with 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 53 

the required attorney's fee, the application will be at 
once filed, and prosecuted with all possible prompt- 
ness. 

Labels. 

Prints and labels are printed slips to be attached to 
manufactured goods, and may be distinguished from 
trade-marks from the fact that their matter may be 
descriptive of the article, and may embody the manu- 
facturer's or dealer's name. The term of registration 
is twenty-eight years. 

Entire cost, including Government and attorney's 
fee, is |11. I require your name and residence, six 
copies of your label, and $11, and when these are 
received will prepare the necessary papers and send 
them to you for your approval and execution. 

Copyrights. 

The protection of a copyright applies to books, maps, 
charts, engravings, photos, chromos, statuary, and 
similar works of art. I secure copyrights at a cost of 
$5, which includes the Government fee. Information 
as to the necessary requirements will be made knowiv 
on application. 

Assignment and Title Searches. 

Every patent or any interest therein, and any in- 
vention before patenting, may be, in whole or in part-, 
assigned by an instrument in writing. 

Any instrument which amounts to an assignment, 
grant, conveyance, mortgage, lien, incumbrance, or 
hcense, or which affects the tiile to the invention or 



54 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

patent, should he recorded in the Patent Office within 
three months from its date. The result of the above 
provision of law is that there is in the Patent Office a 
Division having charge of the recording of the docu- 
ments named; and in order to ascertain the present 
owneis of patents and of rights under patents, a care- 
ful searcii of the record-books is required. 

No properly cautious business man will invest his 
means in patents without first demanding an abstract 
of title to the same, and he also must have confidence 
in the correctness of any search upon which that abstract 
is founded. A searcher must know the manner in 
which the records are made up, and must exercise close 
attention, lest transactions recorded be overlooked and 
there be rights outstanding under a patent which the 
purchaser supposes to be wholly his own. To one 
who invests large sums, not only in the patent, but in 
the " plant " necessarj' in practicing the invention 
covered by the same, such an oversight in the search 
would be fatal to the entire investment, without further 
outlay to secure, if possible, the rights previously as- 
signed to others, which cannot always be done. 

The above is sufficient to show you the necessity of 
reliable searches ; and I can apply beneficially the ex- 
perience of years and knowledge of the record system 
of the Patent Office in making preliminary searches, 
fortified by abstracts properly certified as to correctness 
by the Commissioner of Patents. 

My fee for searches and abstracts of titles is from 
|5 up, according to the time involved. I require that 
fee, and either the number of the patent or name of 
inventor and of the invention, with the year (at least) 
in which the patent was granted ; and on receipt of 
same I will inform you whether an increased fee will 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 55 

be required. The older the patent and the greater 
the number of transfers of rights under it, the larger 
the fee for making abstract of title. Ordinarily, the 
cost will not exceed |5. 

Documents. 

Contracts for the disposition or control, in whole 
or in part, of rights to inventions before patenting, 
and of patents, such as agreements, assignments, 
licenses, shop rights, &c., are important to render 
your patent a paying one. 

You are aware that your patent gives you the ex- 
clusive right of making, using, and selling the invention 
covered by it ; and successful patentees owe much to 
their attorneys for advice and counsel as to the dis- 
position of these rights in such manner as to yield the 
greatest income. It often happens that by judiciously- 
drawn documents these several rights are so manipu- 
lated that large income is derived without actually 
parting with the title of the patent itself, while, again, 
the uses of inventions /o?' particular purposes only often- 
times opens new sources of income. 

I do not sell or purchase patents ; but when I have 
clients whose interests I have reason to believe w^ould 
be advanced by purchasing any patent, I do not hesitate 
to direct their attention to the same. 

Stock and other Companies. 

The provision of properly-drawn documents for 
the organization and incorporation of stock and other 
companies for working a patent, and searches and 
reports looking to the collection of other patents in 



56 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

any piirticulai" art, is a field for the services of a com- 
petent counsel. 

Too little regard to existing patents other than the 
one possessed or purchased by parties intending the 
formation of a company for practicing the invention 
covered thereby, often exposes invested capital to a 
material shrinkage, when by a judicious preliminary 
search and report of the exact state of the art and of 
the 7'eal scope of the purchased patent, not only may 
shrinkage be avoided, but large profits and complete 
control of the market be obtained. 

In the present advanced state of the patent system 
of this country judicious investors are not to be found 
without their regular counsel; and in patent matters 
it is now customary, as well as economical, to com- 
mand, by permanent salary or retainer, a competent 
adviser, skilled in patent law and practice and con- 
versant with the art involved. 

The references given on page 1 are sufficient for 
general purposes. I will upon request furnish special 
references to parties with whom I sustain the relation 
above indicated. It being my rule to act and repre- 
sent but one firm in a particular line of inventions, 
special correspondence with only a limited number of 
parties can be favored with a view of establishing 
further hke relations. 

You cannot fail to understand the value of a repre- 
sentative, bound to your interests, who is present at 
the seat of the General Government, and who has 
access to the entire public records of the Patent Office 
and to Committees of Congress taking cognizance of 
patent matters, and whose knowledge of the rules, 
regulations, methods of doing business, and of the 
officials of the Patent Office has been acquired by 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 57 

personal acquaintance, and formerl}^ by actual partici- 
pation with said officers in the performance of the 
duties devolving upon members of the Examining 
Corps. 

Such a representative, looking for new developments 
and keeping thoroughly posted as to the past and pres- 
ent state of the art in which you are engaged, and in 
which your property lies, certainly is not only a wise 
provision, but is in reality a necessity of your business 
interests. 

Expert Searches and Opinions. 

I can give special reference to clients who have 
been saved the payment of large sums as royalty, or 
as damages for alleged infringement, through services 
rendered by me, at a comparatively nominal expense 
to them. 

A chent desires to know whether, in making, using, 
or selling a machine like one shown in a drawing, 
photograph, or patent, or an article like a sample fur- 
nished, he infringes a certain patent, giving its number 
or date. Another wishes to know whether he in- 
fringes any patent by manufacturing an article for 
which he has or has not, as the case may be, a patent. 
Another wishes to learn all about patents now in force 
on a particular class of machines. Another wishes to 
know all that is old and shown in expired patents on 
certain machines or in any particular art. Another 
desires all the information to be found in all patents, 
foreign or domestic, expired or in force, relating to a 
class of inventions. Another desires counsel and ad- 
vice touching a patent suit in which he prosecutes or 
defends. 
10 



68 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

Id all these and numerous other cases a reliable 
expert search, and an opinion, in writing, founded 
thereon, is the very foundation on which all action 
should be based. 

I have been able in many instances, by my expert 
knowledge of how and where to search, to establish, 
even to the satisfaction of their possessors, the utter 
iDorthlessness of patents on which they based claims 
for damages. 

It is but just to state that in later years the mem- 
bers of the Examining Corps are far more skilled and 
thorough in their examinations of applications for 
patents than in the earlier years of the Patent Office, 
and therefore the percentage of patents granted for 
inventions lacking the statutory requirement of novelty 
is at the present time exceedingly slight. But this 
increase in thorough scrutiny by no means warrants 
the assumption that every patent granted is anything 
more than prima-facie evidence of the actual novelty 
of the invention. Again, the boundless ingenuity of 
the American inventor makes actual commercial and 
manufacturing worth and value out of slight changes 
in form and construction, and the attorney of the 
times makes broad-sounding claims, while the courts 
are becoming expert in mechanical matters and show 
a marked tendency to restrict claims, bj^ construction 
and by a comparison with previous inventions, to 
exactly what the invention is or was for which the 
patent was granted. So that not only the question 
of novelty, but questions of construction, mechanical 
equivalents, valid or invalid forms of claims, the eflects 
of a reissue, jointure of invention, public use, mechan- 
ical skill, and many others, are raised, considered, and 
decided in order to determine the rie^hts of the in- 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 59 

ventor and those of the public, as well as the penalties 
of the infringer. The day has come when intelligent 
men, whether inventors, capitalists, or manufacturers, 
employ and consult counsel in patent matters as read- 
ily as for all time intelligent men have in matters of 
health consulted their physicians. Special training 
and experience are demanded as much in the one 
case as in the other. My experience and special train- 
ing have led thus far to uninterrupted success in the 
prosecution and defense of patent suits, and I will cheer- 
fully give special references to, and addresses of, clients 
upon request of parties who have threatened or pending 
suits on hand. 

Foreign Patents. 

American inventions iind a ready sale in foreign 
countries, and this whether you secure foreign patents 
for your invention or not; but in the latter case the 
ready sales put money into other pockets than your 
own. 

Most foreigi] countries which have a legalized patent 
system require the filing of an application for a patent 
before any other appearance of the invention therein, 
and grant the patent to the introducer, whether he is 
the inventor or not ; so that it is not uncommon for 
persons in foreign countries to manufacture, use, and 
sell American inventions as soon as they receive the 
United States Official Gazette (which is published each 
week, and contains one or more figures of the drawing, 
if any, and all the claims granted in every patent). 
These are sometimes sufficiently elaborate and full to 
enable anyone skilled in the art to practice the inven- 
tion, and thus work to invalidate any patent which is 



60 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

thereafter secured in such country. You should, there- 
fore, apply for foreign patents before the United States 
patent issues. Again, the laws of some foreign coun- 
tries require you to apply for a patent therein before 
applying in other foreign countries ; so that, in order 
to secure valid patents in several foreign countries, 
the several applications must be filed in certain order. 
The rules of practice before foreign offices are com- 
plicated and rigidly enforced ; and this fact, with others 
touching duplicate, triplicate, and in some cases sev- 
eral sets of application papers and drawings, renders 
the prosecution of foreign patents an undertaking 
requiring more than ordinary skill and care. In the 
courts of Great Britain an English patent having one 
invalid claim is wholly invalid, while under our laws 
the patent may be held valid as to the remaining 
claims. This principle of English patent law is suffi- 
cient to show you tlie necessity of employing an ex- 
perienced attorney in prepartng and prosecuting your 
application for English patents; and the technical re- 
quirements of all foreign laws make necessity of the 
same qualifications of parties pursuing privileges or 
remedies thereunder. 

There are countries which grant patents with a 
liberal hand, but which fail in their judicial tribunals 
to give any sort of protection to the rights of the pat- 
entees. isTone of these countries are mentioned in 
this book. There are other countries which protect 
their patentees, but they are not mentioned because 
of a lack of demand for improvements in the arts and 
sciences, the general ignorance of the mass of the people 
thereof, and the excessive expense attending the grant 
of the patents. 

I have yet to experience a failure in my foreign 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 61 

practice, which has extended over ten years and in- 
volved the protection of many valuable inventions. 
Ail foreign applications prosecuted by me are pre- 
pared by me personally and under my direct super- 
vision, and are not sent to foreign countries to be 
written up by persons uneducated in the art to which 
the invention belongs. 

The fees, attorney's and Government, for any coun- 
try (whether in the following list or not) will be given 
on application, and my fees will be modified in accord- 
ance with the character of the invention, number of 
sheets of drawings, length of specification (on account 
of charges for translation into foreign languages when 
necessary)^ and the number of countries in which 
applications yre filed. Estimates will be given on 
any lists presented. I have representatives in over 
thirty foreign countries, and can assure you of satis- 
factory results. It requires from two to eighteen 
months to secure foreign patents. Canada is the only 
foreign country that requires a model. 

The report of the United States Consul in Germany 
explains the tendency of foreigners to reap the benefits 
of American inventions, and gives the reason for the 
lack of a lively demand for American machines and 
implements. 

"The reason," the consul states, "is principally due 
to the fact that, owing to the carelessness of our in- 
ventors in not taking out patents for their inventions 
in the several countries, imitations of all our principal 
machines are manufactured in Europe, rudely, it is 
true, but at less cost, and so fill up the market which 
the original machines would occupy were the latter 
protected by Letters-Patent in the various countries." 
After citing several cases in which this has been done, 

11 



62 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

the consul farther states : " If, therefore, American 
inventors desire to introduce their machines in Europe, 
they must secure patents in every country in which 
they propose to operate simultaneously with their se- 
curity in the United States, even before the inventions 
are described in the press or publicly exhibited ; for 
although European inventoi's may not be possessed of 
the inventive genius of the American, European manu- 
facturers are quick to apply American inventions to 
their own profit." 

Canada. 

A Canadian patent covers the Provinces of Ontario, 
Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, British Co- 
lumbia and Manitoba. Population, 4,000,000; area, 
622,990 square miles; term, 5 years; extensible to 
10 and 15 years by payment of $20 before expiration, 
respectively, of the fifth and tenth years. Patentee 
must not refuse to work the invention if the public 
interest demands it and a fair compensation is offered. 
Model required. If invention has been for more than 
a year previously patented in any other country, a 
Canadian patent cannot be granted. 

Great Britain. 

A British patent covers England, Ireland, Scot- 
land, Wales, and the Channel Islands. Population, 
35,000,000; area, 122,511 square miles. Term 14 
years. Tax of $242 at close of third year ; tax $484 
at close of seventh year. Inventions must not have 
been publicly known in the realm at the time of the 
application. No requirements as to working the 
patent. 



washington, d. c. 63 

France. 

Population 38,000,000; urea, 203,738 square miles; 
term 15 years ; annuities, $20. Patent must be worked 
within two years, and not afterward cease for two 
consecutive years, unless, in either case, such .inaction 
can be justified. 

Germany. 

A German patent covers Prussia, Bavaria, Baden, 
Saxony, and Wurtemberg. Area, 179,587 square 
miles; population, 34,305,358; term, 15 years; an- 
nuity |13.20 for second year, and increasing by same 
amount for each subsequent year. Invention must 
not have been described in any printed publication or 
publicly used in Germany at the date of application. 
Patentee must endeavor to work the patent, and must 
not refuse licenses upon adequate compensation when 
the public interest demands the use of the invention. 

Information regarding other foreign patents wil be 
cheerfully given upon request. 

Foreign Trade-Marks. 

Manufacturers are just beginning to reahze the 
benefits of foreign trade-marks. They now see that 
the registry of their mark in a foreign country is in 
effect a patent on their production, in so far that no 
person can apply a similar mark on similar goods in 
that market. The common practice of foreign (no- 
tably the French, German, and English) manufacturers 
to secure heavy trade and a practical monopoly of the 
sale of their wares at home and in the United States 
by attaching trade-marks of others for their home 



64 E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY, 

trade and by' registering their trade-marks here is being 
overcome by our manfacturers of machinery, wares, 
and merchandise by registering their marks abroad 
for foreign trade. 

In most countries having laws governing the reg- 
istration of trade-marks the rights of the registrant 
are faithfully protected by severe penalties inflicted 
upon any unlawful use of the mark. 

Attorney's fees made known on application, and 
modified in accordance with the number of cases 
prosecuted. 

The registration of trade-marks can be secured in 
the following countries: 

Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Austria- 
Hungary, Italy, Russia, Servia, and Spain. 

Table of Fees. 

Note. — My fee, the attorney's fee stated below, is 
for ordinary cases. Each case is considered "ordinary" 
unless (b}' reason of its being complicated, difficult to 
prosecute, requiring an appeal, or otherwise requiring 
unusual labor and skill) I notify 3'ou of any increase 
of the attorney's fee over that stated below. My ap- 
plication fees do not include ray fee for an appeal. 
In no case will you be called upon for more than the 
ordinary fee, unless you have been duly notified of 
a larger amount required. The fee for my services in 
all matters will be made known before you incur any 
expense. 

In cases requiring more than one sheet of drawings, 
$4 per sheet will be charged for each additional sheet. 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 65 

Patents (Mechanical, &c). 

First Government or tiling fee... $15 00 

Drawing 5 00 

Attorney's fee 25 00 

Final Government or issue fee " 20 00 

Total cost (see ^^ First Step," page 28). $65 00 

The final or issue fee is not required until the ap- 
plication is allowed. 

Reissues. (See page 42.) 

Government or tiling fee. (JHo issue fee.).... $30 00 

Drawing 5 00 

Attorney's fee 40 00 



Total $75 00 

jN'ote. — If a patent is reissued in two or more divisions, the 
Govei-nment filing fee of $30 must be paid for eacli division, as 
two or more separate applications will be required. I usually 
modify my fee in accordance with the number of divisions. 

Design Patents. (See page 50.) 
Government tiling fee, for 3J years. (No issue 

fee.) ■ $10 00 

Attorney's fee 15 00 

Caveats. (See page 49.) 

Government or tiling fee. (No issue fee).... $10 00 

Drawing 5 00 

Attorney's fee 10 00 

Trade-Marks. (See page 51.) 

Government or tiling fee. (No issue fee.) $25 00 

Attornev's fee 10 00 



QQ E. B. STOCKING, ATTORNEY. 

Labels. (See page 53.) 

Government or filing fee. (No issue fee.).... $6 00 
Attorney's fee 5 qO 

Copyrights. (See page 53.) 

Attorney's fee (including Government fee)... |5 00 
Appeals. (See page 40.) 

From Primary Examiner to Board of Exam- 

iners-in-Chief (Government fee.) $10 00 

From Board of Examiners-in-Chief to Com- 
missioner^ Government fee 20 00 

From Commissioner to Supreme Court Dis- 
trict of Columbia 

From Commissioner to U. S. Circuit Court... 



